The debate exploded aboveground on Saturday in an opinion essay at Ynet (in Hebrew only) by Ziv Lenchner, a left-leaning Tel Aviv artist and one of Ynets large, bipartisan stable of columnists. Its called Dancing the Hora on Norwegian Blood. He argues that the comment sections on news websites are a fair barometer of public sentiment (a questionable premise) and that the overwhelming response is schadenfreude, pleasure at Norways pain. As Ill show below, that judgment seems pretty accurate.

He goes on to blame the Netanyahu government, which he accuses of whipping up a constant mood of the whole world is against us. Again, a stretcha government can exacerbate a mood, but it cant create it out of whole cloth. Israelis have been scared and angry since long before this government came in two and a half years ago, for a whole variety of reasons. The government isnt working overtime to dispel the mood, but it cant be blamed for creating it. Finally, Lenchner argues, on very solid ground, that the vindictive mood reflected on the Web is immoral and un-Jewish, citing the biblical injunction do not rejoice in the fall of your enemy.

interesting comments on how some jewish spokesmen believe the oslo killings were 'deserved' for lack of a better word but again it is always the extremist who get the attention...i wonder how many jews said a prayer or bowed their heads when they heard of this? i would say more prayed than rejoiced...

If it's of any consequence, and to counter some of the unsurprisingly selfish attitudes exhibited by Israel's (typically) myopic far-right, I've never given a fig about what befell the Jews in the Holocaust, either. It's just a shame that their - majority - insular, victim mentality overrode any compassion towards Norway, regardless of Norway's unrelated Palestinian sympathies.

I think there is a great danger with the way the instigators of the hate stuff towards Muslims - the people who want them all out and an end to multiculturalism, what Wilders recently referred to as the 'Global anti-Islam Movement', combine the hate and fear mongering with a love of Israel. Both go together so you get as AB was, people who become fanatical Zionists.

This article which I found at Jews for Justice for Palestinians says the relationship of these people to Israel is one which Israel should reject.

Jews for Justice for Palestinians head the article' Ynet warns that many far-right Europeans claim kinship with Israel and Zionism'

The best thing imo would be if Israel did stand back from it. I believe that Israel is providing for them a twisted belief that they are the good guys fighting against the oppressed Jews whereas the more real reason is to be blunt, just the old xenophobia as the article describes.

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